


Of Notes and Numbers

by Aelita_Angel (OmegaWolf747)



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: F/M, Music, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26545630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmegaWolf747/pseuds/Aelita_Angel
Summary: A day in the park, a stupid music video from Odd, a visit to a piano shop.
Relationships: Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer
Kudos: 5





	Of Notes and Numbers

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Odd just can't escape math no matter what he does.

A/N: Mad props to Paladin77 for the idea. Merci beaucoup!

_ Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Paris _

Jeremie and Aelita were hanging out at the crowded, but always pleasant park with Odd. As the three soaked up the sunshine on a bench, Odd regaled them with tales of his videography and film making classes in college. 

"We're getting into soundtracks, so I'm pretty stoked about that," the spiky haired teen exclaimed. 

"Ah! That's wonderful! The soundtrack is the heart and soul of the film," agreed Aelita, eyes lighting up with enthusiasm for one of her favorite pursuits. "Even a poor movie can be lifted up by memorable and inspiring music."

"Like that superhero movie over the summer," added Jeremie. "The plot was forgettable, but that  **soundtrack!** "

"Yeah, but here's the stupid part: they're making us study math as part of it. What the hell does math have to do with music?" fumed Odd.

“Everything!” both geniuses exclaimed together.

“Huh?” yelped Odd.

Jeremie and Aelita looked at each other, then the confusion evident on Odd’s face, and burst into hearty peals of laughter. 

“Thanks for laughing at me, guys,” glowered Odd.

"Sorry, Odd," Jeremy apologized before launching into an explanation. "Elements of music such as its form, rhythm and metre, the pitches of its notes and the tempo of its pulse can be related to the measurement of time and frequency, offering ready analogies in geometry."

Poor Odd could only stare.

“English, please, Einstein,” he begged in equal parts amusement and exasperation.

“‘Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting ,’” Aelita quoted by way of translating for her boyfriend.

Jeremie couldn’t help but smile. Music was definitely Aelita’s  _demesne_ and it was always a pleasure to watch her revel in it.

"Oh God! You two are impossible for an idiot like me to understand!" laughed Odd as he jumped up. "I'd better get going and get started on it. I'll try to remember what you guys said about notes and numbers."

Aelita and Jeremie laughed as Odd paid them _“adieu”_ and retreated to tackle his assignments. 

“Numbers always were Odd’s bane,” sighed Jeremie.

“But movies are his boon, so maybe he’ll find a way to combine them,” replied Aelita.

“Hopefully,” agreed Jeremie.

* * *

The couple left the bench and, hand in hand, began ambling aimlessly about the huge park. They wove their way through the throngs of other people who frequented it: children running and playing, parents keeping an eye on them while also typing on their Blackberries, or chatting with each other. 

Jeremie and Aelita crossed over the  _Passerelle suspendue_ , a long bridge that overlooked the great big lake with people swimming in it under them, emerging onto the high mountain island on the other end. They walked up to the  Temple de la Sybille , which was a small white stone outlook that served as the perfect panopticon from which to view the whole of the park. 

The view from among its white stone columns was nothing less than breathtaking. Leaning against the railing, Jeremie and Aelita took in the sights of all the trees, grass, bushes, flowers, people running to and fro, birds wheeling about in the wind overhead, enjoying the feeling of the breeze ruffling their hair and cooling their skin. 

Jeremie cast a glance at Aelita, whose head was thrown back and eyes closed as she enjoyed the sensation of the wind touching her. After spending so long in the supercomputer, where her only senses had been aural and visual, she never took for granted the sense of touch. Jeremie’s heart welled with gladness that he had been able to save her from her virtual prison and restore her to the real world where she belonged.

As if sensing his gaze, Aelita opened her eyes and smiled at him. Caught staring, Jeremie’s cheeks blushed. Aelita reached out and cupped his cheek gently in her hand. Closing his eyes and leaning into her touch, Jeremie caressed the arm that held his head so tenderly.

At length, the young couple felt their stomachs beginning to rumble as their appetites were sharpened by romping about in the fresh air. Hand in hand, they made their way to the restaurant they had agreed upon beforehand: the  _Pavillon du Lac_.

The brown and green restaurant with its arches and colonnades provided a charming environment for an al fresco luncheon. Spotting an empty table, Jeremie and Aelita quickly claimed it for themselves, exchanging smiles as they sat down.

The waiter approached their table. Aelita ordered _ Saumon mariné à cru_ and Jeremie the  _Veau vitello_. 

After the waiter left, Jeremie looked up into a pair of amused and interested emerald irises. A smile broke out on his lips and he felt his cheeks heat up again. When Aelita returned his smile and reached across the table to caress his hands, that young man was catapulted into the seventh heaven.

Seeing Jeremie so thoroughly smitten, Aelita couldn’t help but giggle quietly. A blushing Jermie smiled and dipped his head for just a second before raising his eyes to commune once again with Aelita’s, beholding in their emerald irises all the love the young woman held for him.

Even though they had been dating for six years now, for Jeremie, everything was still as thrilling as it had been when he had still only known Aelita through the medium of a computer screen. 

Their union was one of perfection. Not only was Aelita his match intellectually and skills wise, but they understood each other in a way no one else could, able to feel each other’s emotions almost instinctively and anticipate each other’s thoughts.

_‘I’m the luckiest guy in the world!’_ he thought.  _‘No. Make that the **cosmos!** ’_

All too soon their solitude was disturbed by the waiter returning with two trays of food, which were put on the table and unlidded for the hungry young couple.

“Thank you,” said Aelita politely before the waiter retreated.

Aelita and Jeremie picked up their knives and forks and began their meal. As they dined, Jeremie saw a couple with their little daughter in tow approach the table adjacent to theirs. Thankfully, the child remained well-behaved as the family sat down and ordered their food. Jeremie returned his mind to his food. However, he found his gaze drawn once again to the family next to them when he heard the little girl’s voice begin to sing that childish refrain of old:

_"A B C D... L M N O P... W X Y Z... Maintenant je les connais. Toutes les lettres de l' Alphabet!"_

Jeremie found himself smiling and bobbing his head absently to the childish melody.

_“Tres bien, mon biquet!”_ praised the mother enthusiastically, earning herself such a smile from her little daughter.

 _“Bien chante!”_ agreed the father.

The little girl laughed, delighted in her parents’ praise.

“Speaking of notes and numbers,” Jeremie chuckled to himself, glancing up at Aelita.

However, one look at Aelita stopped his laughter cold in his throat.

Her emerald irises, which had shone with _ joi de vivre_ all day were now clouded over with tears and her features had crumpled. It wasn't altogether uncommon for Aelita to  have her bouts of melancholy and Jeremie generally knew what could trigger them and how to deal with them, but this just seemed completely out of left field.

"Lita, what's the matter?" he asked carefully.

“I was just… remembering my parents,” Aelita explained, voice hitching.

“Oh. I’m sorry…” sighed Jeremie, raising his hands to gently thumb the tears from Aelita’s face.

“Don’t be. It’s an old, but fond memory,” sniffled Aelita, letting her eyelids fall shut and leaning into Jeremie’s touch. “My father used to play that melody for me on his piano.”

“I see. As... as long as you’re OK,” said Jeremie.

“I’m fine. Being with you always helps,” returned Aelita, reaching up squeezing Jeremie’s hands.

Jeremie felt that heat blistering his cheeks again.

“OK,” he managed to squeak out, earning a watery smile from Aelita.

The rest of the meal proceeded without incident. Soon, they were awaiting the cheque. Just then, Jeremie’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out.

“Video message from Odd. Oh god! He finished his music video. This should be good for some laughs at the very least,” he said. “Lemme forward it to you.”

Aelita opened her phone just as the video downloaded onto it. The young couple played it back on their phones. The video consisted of Odd dancing around with various notes and numbers to a silly little ditty that he had somehow managed to compose on his own.

_ A number is a note and a note is a number. Just that thought keeps me from slumber. _

_ It makes me crazy. I can't be lazy. Gotta vote on a note, or a number. Gotta dance, not just lumber. _

“This is as bad as that stupid break dance video from our Kadic days!” winced Jeremie, uncertain whether to laugh or throw his phone into the drink.

“Ha ha ha ha!” Aelita laughed at Odd’s crazy antics as it played on her phone screen.

Upon seeing Aelita’s mirthful reaction, Jeremie found himself chuckling a bit too, thus sparing his phone a watery grave. Unseen by Aelita, Jeremie fired off a quick text to Odd. A moment later, the reply popped up on his screen.

Jeremie:  ** Odd, this is so cringy, it’s hilarious!**

Odd:  **thanks man**

Jeremie:  **Want to meet up a bit later?**

Odd:  ** No prob! C u then.**

* * *

_Piano Shop…_

Jeremie and Odd wandered the aisles, looking at all the different pianos the store had to offer. Jeremie knew what he wanted: a piano just as good as Franz Hopper’s old piano, but not one that would break his bank. 

“When you said meet up, I never would’ve dreamed at a piano shop! You never struck me as a music lover,” Odd commented.

“Not for me; for Aelita,” explained Jeremie. “Remember that old piano at the Hermitage?

“Yeah,” answered Odd.

“Well, it was too badly damaged to be repaired, so we had to get rid of it. Now I want to get her a new one.”

“You’re the Romeo of the _Ravvivando!_ ” laughed Odd.

“I’ll have to trust you on that one,” smiled Jeremie. “There!”

Before them reposed a sleek black baby grand that was (just) in Jeremie’s budget. Jeremie wasted no time in flagging a salesman to make the arrangements.

* * *

_ The Hermitage _

** Honk! Honk! **

This sound caused Jeremie to look up from his computer. He peeked through the window and when he saw the piano store truck, promptly opened the front door for the two piano movers. 

“Right over there, please,” he instructed, pointing to the spot where Hopper’s old piano had stood for 18 years.

After the piano was placed, Jeremie thanked the men as they left. He then sat down on the bench, lifted the cover and gently pressed some of the keys, listening with approval to the sweet tones they gave off.  He was no music virtuoso, but could appreciate a finely tuned instrument as well as the next. 

_'Notes and numbers,'_ he thought as he pecked out a simple tune.

The sound of Aelita’s car pulling into the driveway alerted Jeremie and he quickly stood up. The door opened and in stepped Aelita, bags dangling from her wrists. 

“Hi, Jeremie…” her words trailed off when she saw the beautiful piano that he stood by. “Oh!”

The bags slipped unheeded to the floor as Aelita launched herself into Jeremie’s arms, tears of joy falling from her eyes.

“Jeremie, thank you!” she cried as she wrapped her arms around him, enveloping him in a loving embrace.

Poor Jeremie found his breath taken and was unable to answer, except by wrapping his arms around Aelita’s waist and resting his head on her shoulder. 

After a few more moments thus, Aelita pulled back from Jeremie, that most beautiful smile only for him playing on her lips, while tears of joy shone in her eyes. She sat down on the piano bench and began playing… the alphabet melody. Jeremie couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his features.

Aelita slid over to the side and patted the spot next to her. Jeremie sank down to the bench next to her, put his hands to the keyboard and slowly, carefully picked out notes, doing his best to keep up his virtuoso girlfriend.

So it was, for the first time in 20 years, sweet piano music resounded throughout the Hermitage’s hallways.

* * *

_Next weekend, same park…_

Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita were once again sitting at a bench in the park.

“How’d your music video do?” Aelita asked.

“I got a C+ on it. The prof said the video was good, but my lyrics, well… sucked,” answered Odd with a wince.

“Oh, god,” laughed Jeremie.

“They were… interesting,” Aelita commented in amusement. “‘A number is a note. A note is a number. Learning that keeps me from slumber.’ ”

“Yeah, yeah. I know…”  sighed Odd with a self-deprecating smile.

“Tell you what: next music video you’re assigned, I’ll help you with the soundtrack,” offered Aelita.

“Really? Thanks, Princess!” cried Odd, giving Aelita a quick hug. 

_‘Oh, god, my poor ears,’_ thought Jeremie, hoping that Aelita would be able to transform any cacophony Odd might make into a beautiful melody, or at least something that wouldn’t burst his eardrums. 

Time to get some ear plugs!

~Fin~


End file.
